Reading apparatus

ABSTRACT

In accordance with one embodiment, a reading apparatus, arranged at a position between an operator and a customer who stand in face to face manner, comprises a main body having an opening on a surface thereof facing the operator, a first image capturing section for operator, housed in the main body, configured to photograph a commodity through the opening of the main body to capture an image of the commodity, and a second image capturing section for customer, arranged on the main body, configured to photograph an object held by the customer to capture an image of the object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2014-023601, filed Feb. 10, 2014, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a reading apparatuswhich scans or reads a commodity or a code symbol attached to thecommodity.

BACKGROUND

In a store such as a supermarket and the like, a customer who purchasescommodities puts displayed commodities in a shopping basket or a cartand carries the shopping basket or cart to a checkout counter. A shopclerk carries out checkout work at the checkout counter. A readingapparatus such as a barcode scanner for reading commodity information isarranged on the checkout counter. The shop clerk, standing at a positionopposite to the customer across the checkout counter, reads thecommodities brought by the customer one by one through the readingapparatus to input information relating to the commodity to bepurchased.

Conventionally, there are provided various services for promoting salesin the store. For example, a service card such as a membership card, aso-called point card, and the like is distributed to customers, andpoints that are given according to purchase amount are storedcumulatively in a store server in association with the point card. Thegiven points are used to receive a discount or exchange a commoditycorresponding to the point amount from the next transaction andthereafter.

Further, the following service is also performed in the store. Serviceinformation indicating that a service such as a discount and the like isprovided is announced in an advertisement medium such as a flier and theadvertisement medium is widely distributed to customers. And onlycustomers who present the advertisement medium or the serviceinformation can receive such a service.

Incidentally, in the constitution of the conventional checkout counter(registration apparatus), in a case in which the customer shows theservice card or service information to an operator, the work of the shopclerk (operator) is interrupted, or the customer has to show the servicecard or service information before the registration work of the shopclerk is started or after the registration work of the shop clerk iscompleted, in general. As a result, there is a possibility that the workefficiency of the shop clerk is dropped. Further, there is also aproblem that showing the service card or service information is tootroublesome for customers.

In recent years, it is more and more popular to provide serviceinformation through a communication line such as an E-mail, a Web pageand the like. In this case, customers receive the service informationprovided through the communication line with an informationcommunication terminal such as a mobile phone and the like. Thecustomers can show the display screen of the information communicationterminal to the shop clerk to enjoy the service. However, there is apossibility that there are some customers who hesitate to show his/herinformation communication terminal in view of reason for privacy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the whole constitution of a POS systemaccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a reading apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the constitutionof an upper surface portion of the reading apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical connection of thereading apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical connection of thePOS terminal;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the functional components of thereading apparatus and the POS terminal;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of reading processingcarried out by the reading apparatus; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of sales registrationprocessing carried out by the POS terminal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one embodiment, a reading apparatus, arranged at aposition between an operator and a customer who stand in face to facemanner, comprises a main body, a first image capturing section foroperator and a second image capturing section for customer. The mainbody includes an opening on a surface thereof facing the operator. Thefirst image capturing section is housed in the main body to photograph acommodity through the opening of the main body to capture an image ofthe commodity. The second image capturing section is arranged on themain body to photograph an object held by the customer to capture animage of the object.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment is described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating thewhole constitution of a POS system 1 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the POS (Point Of Sales) system 1 (store system)includes a reading apparatus 10 serving as a vertical scanner, and a POSterminal 20 serving as a commodity sales data processing device forexecuting sales registration processing according to an image capturedby the reading apparatus 10. The reading apparatus 10 is arranged on acheckout table 2, on which shopping baskets and the like are placed, ata position (substantially central portion) where an operator and acustomer stand in a face to face manner. The POS terminal 20 is arrangednearby one of the end portions of the checkout table 2. The readingapparatus 10 and the POS terminal 20 are connected with each other to becapable of communicating through a transmission line (not shown). Thereading apparatus 10 and the POS terminal 20 constitute the store system1.

The POS terminal 20 executes sales registration processing includingcheckout processing based on various kinds of data of the commoditiespurchased by the customer. The POS terminal 20 is arranged above adrawer 30 which stores coins and bills in such a manner that coins andbills can be put in and taken out freely. The POS terminal 20 isequipped with two display devices 21 including a display for operator 21a and a display for customer 21 b, an input device 22 including akeyboard and a mode key, and a receipt printer 23. The display device 21and the input device 22 constitute a user interface having aninformation input function for inputting information by the user and aninformation output function for outputting information to the user.

Next, the constitution of the reading apparatus 10 is described withreference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view illustrating thereading apparatus 10 at a side of the apparatus 10 where an imagecapturing window 11 a is arranged. FIG. 2 (b) is a perspective viewillustrating the reading apparatus 10 at a side of the apparatus 10opposite to the side where the image capturing window 11 a is arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reading apparatus 10 includes a main body 11, afirst image capturing section 12, a first display section 13, a keyboard14, a second image capturing section 15, and a second display section16.

The main body 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape and isarranged on the checkout table 2. The height of the main body 11 on thecheckout table 2 is, for example, preferred to be as high as the eyes ofan operator.

The image capturing window 11 a (opening) is arranged on the surface ofthe main body 11 facing the operator who stands in front of the readingapparatus 10. The first image capturing section 12 is arranged insidethe main body 11 behind the image capturing window 11 a. The operatorholds the commodity brought by the customer over the image capturingwindow 11 a to read (photograph) the commodity. The first imagecapturing section 12 is an image sensor including an image capturingelement such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (ComplementaryMOS) and the like. The first image capturing section 12 photographs thearea outside the main body section 11 through the image capturing window11 a. Specifically, the first image capturing section 12 opticallyphotographs either a code symbol (such as a barcode, a two-dimensionalcode and the like) attached to the commodity held in front of the imagecapturing window 11 a or the whole or part of that commodity.

The object recognition is described hereafter. The object recognitionrefers to a technology in which an object photographed by the firstimage capturing section 12 is specified (recognized) according to afeature amount obtained from the appearance of the object. The POSterminal 20 extracts appearance feature of the photographed commodityfrom the image (object image) captured by the first image capturingsection 12 as the feature amount, and compares the extracted featureamount with the prepared feature amount (reference data) of a referencecommodity to specify (recognize) the photographed commodity. Theappearance feature of the commodity refers to the shape, tint,concave-convex state and the like.

The first display section 13, serving as a display for operator, isarranged on the main body 11 above the image capturing window 11 a. Thefirst display section 13 is constituted by a display device such as anLCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and the like equipped with a touch panel.The first display section 13 displays a commodity name, unit price andthe like of the registered commodity to the operator in the salesregistration processing carried out by the POS terminal 20.

The keyboard 14 is arranged nearby the first display section 13 in aside by side manner. The keyboard 14 includes various keys and the likefor registering the commodity that cannot be registered with the codesymbol or object image. It is shown in FIG. 2 that the first displaysection 13 and the keyboard 14 are arranged integrally, however, theymay be arranged separately.

An upper surface 11 b of the main body 11 (shown in FIG. 2 (b)) isinclined downwards from the operator side to the customer side oppositeto the operator side. The second image capturing section 15 is arrangedon the inclined surface.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the constitutionof the upper surface portion of the reading apparatus 10. As shown inFIG. 3, the second image capturing section 15 is arranged in such amanner that a portion thereof is buried in the upper surface 11 b. Thesecond image capturing section 15 is provided with an image capturingdevice 15 b including an image capturing element 15 a such as a CCD,CMOS and the like, and a cover 15 c covering the image capturing device15 b.

The image capturing device 15 b is arranged inside the main body 11(below the upper surface 11 b) in parallel to the inclined upper surface11 b. An optical axis direction (image capturing direction) L of theimage capturing device 15 b is substantially orthogonal to the inclinedupper surface 11 b, that is, the optical axis direction of the imagecapturing device 15 b is directed to the upper portion of the customerwho stands opposite to the operator.

The cover 15 c is formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape (archshape). An image capturing window 15 d is arranged at a part of the areaof the cover 15 c of which the center locates on the optical axisdirection L of the image capturing device 15 b. Light permeable resin orglass is fit into the image capturing window 15 d in a manner ofmatching with the arch shape of the cover 15 c. The image capturingdevice 15 b photographs the object held over an area above the imagecapturing window 15 d (image capturing area A) through the imagecapturing window 15 d.

The first image capturing section 12 is used in the reading(photographing) carried out by the operator, while the second imagecapturing section 15 is used in the reading carried out by the customer.Specifically, the second image capturing section 15 opticallyphotographs a specified object held by the customer. According to thepresent embodiment, the specified object may be, for example, a servicecard (membership card, point card and the like) held by the customer.The object to be photographed may also be a paper medium such as anadvertisement (flier) on which information announcing a service-salesuch as a discount is printed. The object to be photographed may furtherbe a portable communication terminal the display screen of whichdisplays the service-sale information.

It is exemplified in the present embodiment that the second imagecapturing section 15 is arranged in a state of protruding from the uppersurface 11 b, however, it is not limited to this. For example, the uppersurface 11 b may be a flat surface with the cover 15 c removed. Further,it is exemplified in the present embodiment that the second imagecapturing section 15 is integrally arranged with the main body 11,however, the second image capturing section 15 may be arrangedseparately from the main body 11 in a detachable manner.

Return to FIG. 2. The second display section 16, serving as a displayfor customer, is arranged nearby the second image capturing section 15.The second display section 16 is constituted by a display device such asan LCD and the like equipped with a touch panel. The second displaysection 16 displays a commodity name, unit price and the like of theregistered commodity to the customer in the sales registrationprocessing carried out by the POS terminal 20. The second displaysection 16 further displays a message or an image for instructing thereading by the second image capturing section 15. In addition, it isexemplified in the present embodiment that the second display section 16is supported at a side of the main body 11 by a supporting member (notshown), however, it is not limited to this.

Next, the electrical connection of the reading apparatus 10 isdescribed. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the electricalconnection of the reading apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the readingapparatus 10 is provided with a microcomputer 101 which controls eachsection of the apparatus 10. The microcomputer 101 is constituted byconnecting a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102 with a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 104 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 105 through a bus line 103.The CPU functionally controls each section. The ROM 104 stores fixed orbasic information such as a control program and the like in advance. TheRAM 105 stores various data in a rewritable manner and functions as awork area. Thus, the microcomputer 101 constitutes an informationprocessing section for executing data processing. The entire or part ofthe RAM 105 is a nonvolatile memory.

The microcomputer 101 is connected with an input/output controller 106,a display/keyboard controller 107, a storage section 108 and acommunication interface 109 through the bus line 103.

The input/output controller 106 is connected with the first imagecapturing section 12 and the second image capturing section 15. Theinput/output controller 106 outputs the image (image data) captured bythe first image capturing section 12 and the second image capturingsection 15 to the microcomputer 101. The input/output controller 106also outputs a control signal output from the microcomputer 101 to thefirst image capturing section 12 and the second image capturing section15.

The display/keyboard controller 107 drives the first display section 13and the second display section 16 to display various images on thedisplay device 21. The display/keyboard controller 107 outputs anoperation signal in response to the touch operation on the first displaysection 13 and the second display section 16, and an operation signalfrom the keyboard 14 to the microcomputer 101.

The storage section 108 is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard DiskDrive), and an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage section 108 storesvarious data relating to the operations of the reading apparatus 10.

The communication interface 109 enables the reading apparatus 10 tocarry out data communication with other machines (POS terminal 20)through a connecting wire such as a LAN cable and the like. For example,the communication interface 109 sends images acquired from the firstimage capturing section 12 and the second image capturing section 15 andoperation signal to the POS terminal 20 as an input data. Thecommunication interface 109 receives data for display on the firstdisplay section 13 and the second display section 16 from the POSterminal 20.

Next, the electrical connection of the POS terminal 20 is described.FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical connection of thePOS terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the POS terminal 20 is providedwith a microcomputer 201 which controls each section of the POS terminal20. The microcomputer 201 is constituted by connecting a CPU 202 with aROM (Read Only Memory) 204 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 205 througha bus line 203. The CPU functionally controls each section. The ROM 204stores fixed or basic information such as a control program and the likein advance. The RAM 205 stores various data in a rewritable manner andfunctions as a work area. Thus, the microcomputer 201 constitutes aninformation processing section for executing data processing. The entireor part of the RAM 205 is a nonvolatile memory.

The microcomputer 201 is connected with a display/keyboard controller206, a storage section 207, a communication interface 208, a printercontroller 209 and a scanner controller 210 through the bus line 203.

The display/keyboard controller 206 controls the display device 21 basedon the image data, displays an image corresponding to the image data onthe display device 21, and acquires input data from the input device 22into the microcomputer 201.

The storage section 207 is a storage device such as an HDD, and an SSD.The storage section 207 stores various data. The storage section 207also stores, for example, programs for various processing in the POSterminal 20, a commodity master file, a sales data file and the like(none is shown). The commodity master file stores a unit price,commodity name and the like in association with the commodity code. Thesales data file stores transaction number, transaction type, and thesales data in one transaction.

The communication interface 208 enables the POS terminal 20 to carry outdata communication with other machines through a connecting wire such asa LAN cable and the like. For example, the communication interface 208receives the input data sent from the reading apparatus 10. Thecommunication interface 208 also sends a signal for display on the firstdisplay section 13 and the second display section 16 to the readingapparatus 10.

The printer controller 209 controls the receipt printer 23 based on theprinting data to print an image corresponding to the printing data bythe receipt printer 23.

The scanner controller 210 acquires the input data from the readingapparatus 10 into the microcomputer 201. The scanner controller 210controls the first display section 13 and the second display section 16to display various images on the first display section 13 and the seconddisplay section 16.

Next, the functional components of the reading apparatus 10 and the POSterminal 20 are described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating thefunctional components of the reading apparatus 10 and the POS terminal20.

The reading apparatus 10 operates according to the programs stored inthe storage section 108 to function as an acquisition control section 41and a display control section 42 as shown in FIG. 6.

The acquisition control section 41 controls acquisition and transmissionof the images captured by the first image capturing section 12 and thesecond image capturing section 15. Specifically, the acquisition controlsection 41 starts acquisition of the images through the input/outputcontroller 106 if the transaction start is instructed through anoperation on the keyboard 14 or the first display section 13, or asignal notified from the POS terminal 20.

The acquisition control section 41 sends the acquired image data oradditional information to the POS terminal 20 through the communicationinterface 109. The acquisition control section 41 stops the acquisitionof the images if end of the transaction is instructed through anoperation on the keyboard 14 or the first display section 13, or asignal notified from the POS terminal 20. The acquisition controlsection 41 may stop the operations of the first image capturing section12 and the second image capturing section 15, and in this case, theacquisition control section 41 starts the operations of the first imagecapturing section 12 and the second image capturing section 15 inresponse to the transaction start instruction described above.

As stated below, in the POS terminal 20, the processing manner of theimage data is different depending on the image captured by the firstimage capturing section 12 or by the second image capturing section 15.Thus, an identifier for indicating a sending source of the image data(the first image capturing section 12 or the second image capturingsection 15) may be added to the image data by the acquisition controlsection 41 at the time the image data is acquired to identify whetherthe image is captured by the first image capturing section 12 or by thesecond image capturing section 15. Alternatively, the first imagecapturing section 12 and the second image capturing section 15 add anidentifier indicating itself to the image at the time the image iscaptured.

The display control section 42 controls the display of the first displaysection 13 and the second display section 16. Specifically, the displaycontrol section 42 controls the first display section 13 or the seconddisplay section 16 to display various kinds of information such astransaction details and a guidance screen described later on the firstdisplay section 13 or the second display section 16 based on a displaycontrol signal input from the POS terminal 20.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the POS terminal 20 operatesaccording to the programs stored in the storage section 207 to functionas a sales registration section 51 and a display control section 52.

The sales registration section 51 executes sales registration processingrelating to the sales registration of the commodity. The salesregistration section 51 notifies the reading apparatus 10 of thetransaction start to start the sales registration processing ifreceiving an operation instructing the transaction start through theinput device 22.

In the sales registration processing, the sales registration section 51carries out sales registration of the commodity based on the image inputfrom the reading apparatus 10. Specifically, the sales registrationsection 51 specifies, according to the image (the image of the codesymbol attached to the commodity, or the object image of the whole orpart of the commodity) captured by the first image capturing section 12,the commodity corresponding to the image from the commodity master file,and carries out sales registration of the specified commodity.

If the image captured by the second image capturing section 15 isreceived, the sales registration section 51 executes the predeterminedprocessing corresponding to the image. For example, in a case in whichthe image captured by the second image capturing section 15 is a servicecard such as a membership card, a point card and the like, the salesregistration section 51 reads identification information (membershipnumber and the like) for identifying the customer from the image. Thenthe sales registration section 51 gives points calculated according tothe total amount of the transaction in association with theidentification information. In a case in which the image captured by thesecond image capturing section 15 is service or complementaryinformation indicating to provide a discount and the like, the contentin the service or complementary information is read from the image, andthe processing corresponding to the content such as a discount isapplied to the total amount of the transaction. The technology forreading (recognizing) character string from the image is awell-known/well-used technology such as an OCR (Optical CharacterReader), and therefore the explanation thereof is omitted.

If an operation instructing end of the transaction is received throughthe input device 22, the sales registration section 51 notifies thereading apparatus 10 of the end of the transaction to terminate thesales registration processing.

The display control section 52 controls the screen to be displayed onthe reading apparatus 10 through the cooperation with the displaycontrol section 42 of the reading apparatus 10. Specifically, thedisplay control section 52 generates display data for the transactiondetails corresponding to the sales registration processing carried outby the sales registration section 51 and displays the data on the firstdisplay section 13 and the second display section 16. The transactiondetails include, for example, the commodity name, unit price, totalamount. The display control section 52 displays the display data for thetransaction details on the second display section 16 from the start ofthe sales registration processing until at least the transaction isfinalized or completely registered. The display control section 52 alsodisplays a message or an image for instructing the reading by the secondimage capturing section 15 on the second display section 16.

The programs executed in the reading apparatus 10 and the POS terminal20 of the present embodiment are recorded in a computer-readablerecording medium such as CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (DigitalVersatile Disk) and the like in the form of installable or executablefile.

Further, the programs executed in the reading apparatus 10 and the POSterminal 20 of the present embodiment may be stored in a computerconnected with a network such as Internet, and downloaded via thenetwork. Further, the programs executed in the reading apparatus 10 andthe POS terminal 20 of the present embodiment may also be provided ordistributed via a network such as the Internet.

Operation of the POS system 1 is described. First, the readingprocessing carried out by the reading apparatus 10 is described withreference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example ofthe reading processing carried out by the reading apparatus 10.

If the start of the transaction is instructed (ACT S11), the displaycontrol section 42 of the reading apparatus 10 displays a message or animage for instructing the reading by the second image capturing section15 on the second display section 16 as a guidance screen through thecooperation with the display control section 52 of the POS terminal 20(ACT S12).

Next, the acquisition control section 41 starts to acquire images fromthe first image capturing section 12 and the second image capturingsection 15 (ACT S13). In this way, the acquired images are sent to thePOS terminal 20.

When the transaction is started, the operator of the reading apparatus10 holds the commodities to be purchased over the image capturing window11 a one by one to read (photograph) the commodities in sequence. Inthis way, the images of the commodities are output sequentially from thefirst image capturing section 12.

On the other hand, in the reading apparatus 10 of the presentembodiment, the customer inputs various kinds of information byhimself/herself through the second image capturing section 15 orientedto the customer side. Thus, the customer can hold the membership card,advertisement medium or the display screen of the informationcommunication terminal toward the second image capturing section 15 toinput additional information such as identification information and thelike while the commodities' are read by the operator.

In this way, since the reading (photographing) of the commodities andthe reading of the additional information can be carried out inparallel, the work efficiency relating to the reading work can beimproved. Further, since time and labor of showing, for example, theinformation communication terminal or the member card to the operator bythe customer can be saved, customer convenience can be enhanced.

Next, the display control section 42 determines whether or not thedisplay data of the transaction details is input from the POS terminal20 (ACT S14). If it is determined that the display data of thetransaction details is not input (NO in ACT S14), the processing in ACTS16 is executed. If it is determined that the display data of thetransaction details is input (YES in ACT S14), the display controlsection 42 displays the transaction details on the first display section13 and the second display section 16 (ACT S15), and then the processingin ACT S16 is executed.

The microcomputer 101 of the reading apparatus 10 executes theprocessing in ACT S13-ACT S15 repeatedly (NO in ACT S16) until thetransaction is finalized through an operation on the POS terminal 20.Then if an instruction for finalizing the transaction is received (YESin ACT S16), the acquisition control section 41 stops the acquisition ofthe images from the first image capturing section 12 and the secondimage capturing section 15 (ACT S17), and then the present processing isterminated.

Next, the sales registration processing carried out by the POS terminal20 is described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchartillustrating an example of the sales registration processing carried outby the POS terminal 20.

If the start of the transaction is instructed (ACT S21), the displaycontrol section 52 of the POS terminal 20 displays a guidance screen forinstructing the reading by the second image capturing section 15 on thesecond display section 16 through the cooperation with the displaycontrol section 42 of the reading apparatus 10 (ACT S22).

Next, the sales registration section 51 waits for until an image isinput from the reading apparatus 10 (NO in ACT S23). In a case in whichan image (first image) acquired from the first image capturing section12 is input (YES in ACT S23, and YES in ACT S24), the sales registrationsection 51 specifies the commodity corresponding to the first image fromthe commodity master file (ACT S25). The sales registration section 51executes sales registration processing of the specified commodity (ACTS26).

Next, the display control section 52 of the POS terminal 20 generatesthe display data of the transaction details (commodity name, unit price,total amount and the like) corresponding to the sales registration (ACTS27). The display control section 52 displays the transaction details(display data) on the first display section 13 and the second displaysection 16 through the cooperation with the display control section 42of the reading apparatus 10 (ACT S28).

The transaction details in the second display section 16 may bedisplayed together with the guidance screen; alternatively, the detailscreen is displayed after the guidance screen is deleted. For example,in a case in which the image captured by the second image capturingsection 15 is already received, the guidance screen is deleted;otherwise, the guidance screen may be resized to a reduced area and thedetail screen is displayed in the remaining area to display both screenson the second display section 16.

On the other hand, in a case in which an image acquired from the secondimage capturing section 15 is input (YES in ACT S23, and NO in ACT S24),the sales registration section 51 reads additional information such asidentification information for identifying the customer, the content ofthe provided service and the like from the image (ACT S29). The salesregistration section 51 executes the processing (point givingprocessing, discount processing and the like) according to theadditional information (ACT S30). Further, the processing result in ACTS30 may be displayed on the first display section 13 and the seconddisplay section 16.

The microcomputer 201 of the POS terminal 20 executes the processing inACT S23-ACT S30 repeatedly (NO in ACT S31) until a closing key (notshown) on the keyboard 14 is operated to finalize the transaction. Iffinalization of the transaction is declared through the operation on theclosing key (YES in ACT S31), the microcomputer 201 of the POS terminal20 outputs the transaction details and the processing result in ACT S30from the receipt printer 23 (ACT S32), and then the present processingis terminated.

As stated above, in accordance with the present embodiment, the firstimage capturing section 12 for operator and the second image capturingsection 15 for customer are used, and thus reading operations of variouskinds of information relating to the transaction (sales registration)can be carried out in parallel with one another. Therefore, the workefficiency relating to the reading work can be improved and customer andshop clerk convenience can be enhanced. Since the second image capturingsection 15 is arranged at the upper surface 11 b of the readingapparatus 10 (main body 11), the space of the upper surface 11 b atwhich the second image capturing section 15 is mounted is usedeffectively and thus the reading apparatus 10 can be minimized.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended tocover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the invention.

For example, it is exemplified in the embodiment described above thatthe display control section 52 of the POS terminal 20 controls displayin the reading apparatus 10, however, it is not limited to this. Forexample, the display control section 42 of the reading apparatus 10 mayinclude the whole or part of the functions of the display controlsection 52, in this way, the display control section 42 of the readingapparatus 10 can control display by itself. Further, the readingapparatus 10 may include the whole or part of the functions of the salesregistration section 51. For example, it is applicable to carry outoperations such as reading of the additional information and thespecification of the commodity from the images captured by the secondimage capturing section 15 and the first image capturing section 12 atthe side of the reading apparatus 10, and then the reading apparatus 10outputs the results of the operations to the POS terminal 20.

Furthermore, it is exemplified in the embodiment described above thatthe POS system 1 is constituted with the reading apparatus 10 (verticalscanner) and the POS terminal 20 which are separated, however, thepresent invention is not limited to this. For example, the POS system 1may be constituted with the reading apparatus 10 and the POS terminal 20which are integrated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reading apparatus arranged at a positionbetween an operator and a customer who stand in a face to face manner,comprising: a main body having an operator side, a customer side, and atop surface, wherein the operator side includes an opening; a firstsubstantially vertical image capturing section, housed in the opening onthe operator side of the main body, configured to capture an image of acommodity when the operator holds the commodity to be purchased in frontof the opening; a first display section, arranged above the opening ofthe main body, configured to display information relating to a salesregistration process for the operator; a second image capturing section,attached to the top surface of the main body behind a back side of thefirst display section, configured to capture an image of an object heldover an upper surface of the second image capturing section by thecustomer, wherein the upper surface is inclined and an optical axisdirection for image capturing of the second image capturing section issubstantially orthogonal to the inclined upper surface and directed toan upper portion of the customer standing opposite the operator; asecond display section, arranged nearby the second image capturingsection, configured to display a guidance screen instructing thecustomer to hold the object in front of the second image capturingsection so that an image of the object is captured, wherein the seconddisplay section is configured to receive an input operation from thecustomer; a processing section configured to execute a salesregistration processing; and an output section configured to acquireimages captured by a first image capturing section and the second imagecapturing section to output the images to the processing section,wherein the output section is configured to, when a transaction start isinstructed: acquire the images captured by the first image capturingsection and the second image capturing section, and add an identifier toeach image, the identifier being indicative of a source that captures animage at a time of the image being acquired, to be output to theprocessing section.
 2. The reading apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the upper surface of the main body is inclined downwards fromthe side facing the operator to a side facing the customer.
 3. Thereading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second imagecapturing section is further configured to read a membership card as theobject held over the upper surface of the second image capturing sectionwhile the operator holds the commodity to be purchased in front of thefirst image capturing section.
 4. The reading apparatus according toclaim 3, further comprising a sales registration section configured toread information from the membership card and calculate a discount forthe commodity to be purchased.
 5. The reading apparatus according toclaim 3, further comprising a sales registration section configured toread information from the membership card and calculate points for anaccount associated with the membership card based on a total amount of asales transaction.
 6. An apparatus, comprising: a main body having anoperator side, a customer side, and a top surface; a vertical imagecapturing section on the operator side of the main body, configured tocapture an image of a commodity when an operator holds the commodity tobe purchased in front of the vertical image capturing section; a firstdisplay section attached to the main body, configured to displayinformation relating to a sales registration processing for an operator;an inclined image capturing section on the top surface of the main bodybehind a back side of the first display section and positioned towardsthe customer side of the main body, configured to capture an image of anobject held over the inclined image capturing section; a second displaysection attached to the main body, configured to display a guidancescreen instructing a customer to hold the object over the inclined imagecapturing section, wherein the second display section is configured toreceive an input operation from the customer; a processing sectionconfigured to execute a sales registration processing; and an outputsection configured to acquire images captured by a first image capturingsection and the second image capturing section to output the images tothe processing section, wherein the output section is configured to,when a transaction start is instructed: acquire the images captured bythe first image capturing section and the second image capturingsection, and add an identifier to each image, the identifier beingindicative of a source that captures an image at a time of the imagebeing acquired, to be output to the processing section.
 7. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein an optical axis direction of the inclined imagecapturing section is directed towards a customer positioned on thecustomer side of the main body.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein theinclined image capturing section is positioned above the vertical imagecapturing section.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the inclinedimage capturing section includes a substantially semi-cylindrical cover.10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first display is attached tothe operator side of the main body.
 11. The apparatus of claim 6,wherein the second display is attached to the customer side of the mainbody.
 12. An apparatus, comprising: a main body having an operator side,a customer side, and a top surface; a vertical image capturing sectionon the operator side of the main body, configured to capture an image ofa commodity when an operator holds the commodity to be purchased infront of the vertical image capturing section; a first display sectionattached to the main body, configured to display information relating toa sales registration processing for an operator; an inclined imagecapturing section on the top surface of the main body behind a back sideof the first display section and positioned towards the customer side ofthe main body, configured to capture an image of a membership card heldover the inclined image capturing section, wherein the capturing of thecommodity and the membership card occur at the same time; a seconddisplay section attached to the main body, configured to display aguidance screen instructing a customer to hold the object over theinclined image capturing section, wherein the second display section isconfigured to receive an input operation from the customer; a processingsection configured to execute a sales registration processing; and anoutput section configured to acquire images captured by a first imagecapturing section and the second image capturing section to output theimages to the processing section, wherein the output section isconfigured to, when a transaction start is instructed: acquire theimages captured by the first image capturing section and the secondimage capturing section, and add an identifier to each image, theidentifier being indicative of a source that captures an image at a timeof the image being acquired, to be output to the processing section. 13.The apparatus of claim 12, wherein an optical axis direction of theinclined image capturing section is directed towards a customerpositioned on the customer side of the main body.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the inclined image capturing section is positionedabove the vertical image capturing section.
 15. The apparatus of claim12, wherein the inclined image capturing section includes asubstantially semi-cylindrical cover.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the first display is attached to the operator side of the mainbody and the second display is attached to the customer side of the mainbody.